WHS, Asda, Tesco-Can't understand the fuss

[welshscrapqueen]

Have rushed eagerly to all the above shops with credit card in hand and honestly couldn't find anything enticing to buy.

Asda have now replaced the bargain Georgia Pacific for a smaller, more expensive pack with something to do with crafting on the front and couldn't bear to buy that on principle that they are now trying to rip me off.

Tescos was similarly disappointing.

Now just get me in a real SB shop and that is another matter- So sponsors keep going ! I personally don't think there is anything to worry about from these large chains and also from the advertising on these boards.

[marham]

Only some of the WH Smith shops are trialing the scrapbooking stuff so you may have been unlucky there. The one in Glasgow (Argyle St) is doing it and its very good, prices fairly average and quite a decent selection.

[Kraft Stop]

I'm confident if you ask a scrapping question in any of those large stores they wont be able to provide the help and advice we can offer.

[Natbag]

I was just going to say that Lynn! Acid free? They'd look at you like you'd gone out! :D
There's no way any of the big stores will ever be able to match the kindness, friendliness, helpfulness and generosity of the sponsors on here, not to mention just having that personal touch. Plus it's always so much fun having goodies arriving in the post! :D

[~Nessie~]

I love it when scrapbook stuff arrives in th post, it's like getting presents.........that you have to pay for:rolleyes:

[cindersmcphee]

I agree with that although its nice coming home with a carrier bag full of stuff from shops, nothing more exciting than getting a box of goodies delivered to your door. I could have hugged my postie a couple of days ago when he arrived with my box of goodies that I had ordered from States.

[Skippie]

I could hug my postie any time :lol: No reason needed here :lol:

[Scrappin HelsF]

When you shop in Asda, *STEP AWAY FROM THE CARDSTOCK* :ph34r: :wacko:

It's expensive - £4.00 for the ream and I kid you not, it isn't much heavier than normal copier paper! I won't be buying that again. <_<

Don't touch it with a bargepole - hope someone gets the message ;) :D

Hels x

[cathk]

Agree completely - was really disappointed with the tesco stuff and neither asda nor smiths have anything (and prob be disappointed with that too).

[stuff]

I love it when scrapbook stuff arrives in th post, it's like getting presents.........that you have to pay for:rolleyes:

I tend to forget that I've paid for it by the time it's arrived:lol:

I wasn't impressed with the papers and stuff in Tesco. Was pleased that they are selling a range of glues. (This means that next time I run out of Herma at 1am I can jump in the car rather then having to leave the LO for a couple of days till supplies arrive- do always keep a spare now;) )

Did get one of the 150 Xyrons for about £3 which was alright.

[langara]

Only some of the WH Smith shops are trialing the scrapbooking stuff so you may have been unlucky there. The one in Glasgow (Argyle St) is doing it and its very good, prices fairly average and quite a decent selection.

Our WHSmith has on end of eisle display full of paper mania and anita's stuff and are selling it all off at about 30% off. Didn't see anything worth buying though. So no, sponsors have nothing to worry about, even hobby craft never has anything I want to buy (esp at their inflated prices).

[__TJ__]

i have been thinking this for a while, yes its fabby that they are starting to dabble in scrapping, it gets more people interested in scrapping and they will in turn eventually find good shops like the sponsors and keep them in business, BUT ALF is sadly lacking, ( i like alf he is a buddy of mine :P) they dont lable them properly and the only half decent selection i have seen in eastleigh is at partners who have a huge range of toppers or embellies depending on how you look at them.
as for cardstock it isnt an issue for me as they dont do 12x12. still its a start...

[lisawilson]

I totally agree that it is lovely getting a little pressie through the post and having a rummage as you cant remember what you have ordered BUT it is also handy that if you suddenly run out of herma you can nip down to WH Smiths. I cannot see large stores stocking half as much as what our sponsors sell and there is nothing better than shopping in a 'proper 'craft shop. I dont think the sponsors have much to worry about as personally I have only bought a few bits and bobs from Smiths whereas I order online every month for all my goodies that I dont necessarily need but want:lol:

it is definaltely more exciting getting a nice pizza delivery:P

[lizzyann]

The big stores I don't rate much W H Smith is good but can't beat sponsers
you don't have to rush when choosing things and the excitement when the
post arrives is magic :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[eaton0171]

dont rate them much either...WHS not bad.....but dont carter for every taste lol

much prefer sponsors that become you friends and not just taking your money lol

[julieM]

And they take lots of your money hun !!!!!!!!!! :)
julie x

[eaton0171]

yeh they do that lol but gotta love them still lol

[ginny]

Quite agree, I certainly haven't found anything to excite me in the high street shops.I'll stay with the sponsors and can't wait for the next time I can get to a 'real' shop'

[lalamuppet]

I've not seen anything in tesco, asda or smiths to excite me, in fact I've only seen stuff in asda and that was just MILLIONS and MILLIONS of peel-offs :(


I want to go to a *real* shop too but there's slim pickings in York.....hands up if you would like me to open a shop here???

[Donna D]

If it goes the way of the American market, lots of the major shops will stock basic sb supplies, but you have to go to the specialist shops to find something that lights your fire!

[Daisydays]

If good basic stuff like cardstock could be purchased with the baked beans, would that not leave the small shops with space and money to invest in the much more interesting things.

[Fiona]

If good basic stuff like cardstock could be purchased with the baked beans, would that not leave the small shops with space and money to invest in the much more interesting things.

I will eat my hat the day I see 400+ colours of loose cardstock in racks in WHS, Tescos or any major chain.......:D You made me smile, I can see cardstock in between the beans and tinned toms!!:P

[marham]

I so know i'm going to be unpopular saying this but I think you are all being a bit biased! Not everyone has access to the internet and the more mainstream scrapbooking stuff becomes the cheaper the stuff will become. Of course we all love going to "craft" shops but not everyone has access to "good" ones - here in Glasgow you have to travel pretty far to get a decent one I am fortunate to drive a car and can get to them, I, and you, are fortunate to be able to access the "sponsors" but there are alot of people out there who cannot and quite frankly I will continue to buy stuff in WH Smith, Asda, Costco or where ever I find scrapping stuff I like and can afford, its no worse than shopping in supermarkets instead of corner shops - bet most of you do that!!! Anyway, rant over.

[Anso]

I went to a WH Smith the other day and I have to say that even though some of the scrapping stuff wasn't maybe that great, they also had some nice stuff like MM foam stamps, Tim Holtz distress inkpads etc :D So it's not all bad :)

[Bluemoonjules]

Cheap and/or available stash is welcome to me - from wherever!

[LUCY C-T]

I went to a WH Smith the other day and I have to say that even though some of the scrapping stuff wasn't maybe that great, they also had some nice stuff like MM foam stamps, Tim Holtz distress inkpads etc :D So it's not all bad :)

Which WHS was that if you don't mind me asking?

BTW went to the Range the other day and asked their craft section manager if they had any glossy cardstock, she looked at me with a blank expression and said 'what's that?'. I then (now stupidly methinks) asked her if they stocked shrink plastic, she told me that it was in the diy section:lol:! She thought that it was shrink wrap - obviously the Range's craft section manager is well trained!

[Isis Black]

i would be rather happy if my local expanding Tesco starts to stcok scrapping stuff as its only across the road from me and we only have 1 shop in town but i really dont like it there as the staff on the whole are rather miserable and un helpful! it took me travelling 17 miles to find a very nice shop with very nice and helpful staff!!! trouble is i cant get there easily!

of course i know there are net shops too but there are times i would like to actually look at the stuff first before bying it jsut to see how it looks and if its exaclty what i want or need!!!

[craft heaven]

Have been to all these big chain stores and had a look at their range and prices etc.,
I have to admit, It does worry me being a small independant, so obviously as a businesswoman, I want to see what they have on offer if they are in competition with me.

Scrapbooking:the selection is awful, no choice whatsoever for a real scrapper.
Card Making: Very expensive indeed for what i would call cheap and nasty embellishments, which I for one would not ever put on a handmade card.The paper and Card packs were grossly overpriced and the cardstock was not of a high quality either.

Relating the stock in supermarkets and my regular clientele, I do not think I have anything to worry about.

I agree with earlier posts , that you wont find someone in Tesco or wherever, taking their own time and products to demonstrate how to use something!

[fubsyporker]

Tesco etc. are all jumping on the fact that papercraft is so popular. Years ago WHSstarted to sell knitting yarns because knitting was so 'in' - I suppose they might again as it's popular once more. They cater for the impulse buy, and if you are like me with no transport to get to the craft shop about 10 miles away, then they do at least provide something in the town. I have been to the out of town craft shop a few times but when I have bought from them, have tended to do it by mailorder. Big Store wise I suppose that's why QVC is so pupular - they do show you what your are getting. I suppose though that rents in town centres are so high, it's almost impossible for a craft outlet to be brave enough to set up but I'm sure it would be very popular and both public and private transport users would be able to access it - and it would be a change from another phone shop The nearest thing we had in our town centre was an Osbourne's which closed down and a small selection on a market stall. As for the quality of staff on craft sections in the big sheds - well isn't it like going into any other 'shed'? the staff know very little - they depend on customers having done their own research I well remember standing in Curry's asking for a specific model of TV. The assistant looked it up on his computer - sorry, don't stock it. Turned around and I said 'but there it is' .... Twice in BQ recently husband has found stuff he wanted online,to be told they don't have it locally. So he asked the assistant to look it up on stocklists and lo and behold it's in stock - but they do have to be bothered to get the forklift to get it down and put it out so we, the longsuffering customer can buy. I agree with most everybody though, I rarely see anything that tempts me to buy in Tesco's, Asda's etc. whilst food shopping.

[cheekygirl]

i think nothing beats the feeling of wandering round a craft shop for hours or looking on the internet to see what bargains you can pick up, I hate food shopping with a passion its busy, my toddlers hate it so I never feel like looking for scrapbook things there anyway

[Bluemoonjules]

Gosh this is a very old resurrected thread...............date of last post before today - 24-07-2006............

[NIKIG]

Just goes to show that these shops haven't changed much in the last year then:)
I remember reading this thread last year when it was 'NEW' and agreeing that these big food stores should stay just that way 'food stores' Keep the scrapping stuff to people who know about it ie- our sponsors on here:) :)

[Aky]

But sometimes I'd like to be able to just go out and buy what I want without having to trawl the net and "guess" whether it really is the right shade, colour, size .... etc and then pay £3.95 for delivery when it turns up with a 75p stamp on .......and still be sitting here 8 days later waiting for some cardstock ordered (and paid for!) online ...... guess you can't have the best of both worlds, but I'm all for being able to buy what i want and get it when I want it!!! But that's just my little two-pennorth I guess!

[Clay 36]

I'm with you. Only have internet access when at work and would actually like to match papers/cardstock to my photos rather than guessing. I've had GREAT service from sponsors on here a couple in particular but am not sure if I'm allowed to mention them by name (you know who you are ladies) but I do like to actually "touch" papers etc now and then before paying for them. I feel another wee trip to Perth coming on ...:lol: